Court to decide execution date of four Veerappan associates on Monday

Relatives of two of the convicts denied reports that they were informed of the President rejecting the mercy petition.

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MYSORE/CHAMARAJNAGAR/ BELGAUM: A Mysore court on Monday will decide the dates for the execution of the four associates of Veerappan convicted in the 1993 Palar blast case.

On Wednesday, President Pranab Mukherjee rejected the mercy petitions of Gnanaprakash, Simon, Meesaikara Madhaiah and Bilavendra were sentenced to death by the Supreme Court in 2004 for killing five policemen, 15 police informers and two forest guards in a landmine blast at Palar in Karnataka, near the Tamil Nadu border, on April 9, 1993.

Meanwhile, family members of the convicts are shocked over rejection of their mercy plea by President Pranab Mukherjee.

This comes amidst efforts to stay the execution with the city-based advocate Venugopal, who represented two of the four convicts in the Mysore TADA court, plans to move the high court. The advocate has offered legal assistance to Meesaikara Madhaiah lodged at Hindalga jail in Belgaum. There are grounds to question the rejection of the clemency petition, he stated. The four were initially convicted for life. They have undergone their life term given that they were arrested in 1993. As per the Constitution, two sentences cannot be awarded for the same crime, he argued.

Venugopal said he has represented both Meesekar Madaiah and Simon and is ready to take up their legal battle again arguing that their clemency petition was attended very mechanically by the president.

The Mysore district and sessions court is likely to take up an application from the department of prison on Monday. ADGP (Prisons) K V Gagandeep told TOI the date of execution is likely to be decided on Monday. The department of prisons has moved the court seeking a date, he explained. Hindalga Jail has been conducting rehearsals for their execution. "We are waiting for the court's direction," the ADGP stated. The last hanging in Hindalga Jail was in 1983.

KIN IN SHOCK

Relatives of two of the convicts denied reports that they were informed of the President rejecting the mercy petition. Chamarajanagar SP Rajendra Prasad said the jurisdictional cops are trying to contact the family members. Hindalga Jail sources said that the family is expected to visit the convicts on Friday or Saturday.

A pall of gloom descended on Vaddaradoddi in Kollegal from where Simon and Gnanaprakash hail from. Simon's relatives met him a year ago. They got to know of the news on Wednesday night from the media, but are yet to hear from officials. Some of the family members have gone to Tamil Nadu to meet rights activists and politicians.

HINDALGA GETTING READY

The authorities at Hindalga Jail, where the last hanging took place in 1983, have started preparations for the execution of the four convicts.

Veerappan's elder brother Gnanaprakash, Simon, 'Meesai' Madaian and Pilavendran were sentenced to death by the Supreme Court in 2004 in connection with the blast at Palar in Karnataka in which 22 police personnel were killed.

" We have already begun training our men and are awaiting the execution box. Once it is complete we will hire a hangman to execute,'' jail sources said.

Meanwhile, Union ministry of home affairs had issued a letter to the state home department, confirming the rejection of the mercy plea by the President to the state home department. IGP (prisons) and the superintendent of Hindalga Jail have informed the same to the convicts.

Hindalga is the only prison in the state that has facilities for hanging. The last execution was carried out 30 years ago, of convict Hanumanth.

The prison here houses 60 death sentence convicts. Though the mercy petition of death row convict Saibanna Ningappa Natikar, was rejected on January 4, 2013, he has again appealed before the Karnataka high court claiming that he was not tried under the law of natural justice.

The process of installing gallows will be soon initiated soon after the TADA court in Mysore will sign the death warrant. The warrant will mention the date and time of hanging. According to the jail manual, the hanging has to be done before sunrise.

The hanging posts, which are currently in the storeroom, will be installed on the eve of execution.

The deputy commissioner, the superintendent of police and the joint director of health and a police party will witness the execution till the person is declared dead. To ensure that there is no failure, a trial execution with a dummy man (wooden structure) of average weight is done a few times before the actual hanging. In Hindalga Jail three can be hanged at the same time.

According to reliable sources, family members along with some senior persons are trying to go to court against the President's ruling. The families members of the four convicts are expected to visit them on Friday or Saturday.